‘Steward of Song’ – Adam Stemple (Tor Books)

Despite what you will sometimes find me saying, I’ve got a real soft spot for urban fantasy at the moment. Epic fantasy is still my favourite read and sci-fi often throws up some nice surprises but urban fantasy done well can really make you wonder what’s on the other side of a mirror or what might be taking a short cut through your garden in the middle of the night… Adam Stemple’s ‘Steward of Song’ is one of those books, not particularly original but definitely one that caught my imagination.
‘Steward of Song’ follows on from the events of ‘Singer of Souls’. I don’t really know what these events were as I haven’t read the first book but luckily the sequel appears to be fairly self-contained with only a few hints, used sparingly, of what has happened before. Douglas, the hero of the first book, is now the Lord of Faerie but it’s his brother and sister who take centre stage for this book. Scott (an ex-marine suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome and flashes of second sight) finds a baby left on his doorstep and must fight to protect it from the monsters in the forest. However, he’s about to find that the real threat is a lot closer to home. Ex-policewoman Bridie finds herself in Scotland helping the police investigate the brutal murder of her grandmother and the prime suspect is none other than Douglas…
On the face of things, ‘Steward of Song’ isn’t original at all. Whatever book you look in, the world of Faerie is run by a court where there’s lots of infighting/backstabbing and an icy cold (but beautiful) woman manipulates everyone for her own ends. ‘Steward of Song’ has this in abundance and it also has the almost obligatory ‘humans plunged into the world of Faerie’ theme as well. Having said that, I felt that what the book sets out to do is done very well and any fan of the genre should get a lot out of this read. The simple fact is that Stemple tells a really good story with enough twists and cliffhangers to keep me interested. There’s a ‘police procedural’ element where the uncertainty, over the outcome of the case, constantly wrestles with your assumption that a hero couldn’t possibly have murdered his own grandmother (could he?) I also think that Stemple does a great job introducing fey creatures into our world, an understated approach that somehow achieves a greater impact with its simplicity. Bridie’s confrontation with the Red Caps isn’t really embellished in any way but still feels tense and exciting. It’s not just the fey creatures that are handled well but also the world of Faerie itself. The little details, which characters encounter, are well drawn and Stemple doesn’t let Faerie merge with our world too much, ensuring that it retains its own unique sense of identity. I thought the characterisation was generally handled very well (I found Scott’s tale most engaging) although some characters were less well drawn than others. I’m not sure if this was because the reader is meant to know some characters already (i.e. Douglas) or if we will get to know them better in a future book…
As I’ve already mentioned, while ‘Steward of Song’ won’t any prizes for originality (and was a little vague in places) I found it to be an engaging read that has got me interested in where the story goes next. When I get a moment I’ll have to try and find the first book…

Seven and Three Quarters out of Ten